News | May 8, 2012

ReCommunity's $15MMillion Investment Will Create Up to 80 New Green Jobs

Opening Scheduled for Early 2013

Wilmington, DE (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ReCommunity, the largest pure play recycling company in the United States, has signed a 20-year agreement with the Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) to operate a state-of-the-art automated recycling facility that will serve the entire state of Delaware. ReCommunity is investing $15 million to repurpose the existing 64,000 square foot building, and install state-of-the art sorting equipment within the Delaware Recycling Center (DRC), located at 1101 Lambsons Lane, New Castle, DE to process recyclable aluminum, plastics, paper, cardboard, tin and glass collected from throughout Delaware.

DSWA currently assembles the recyclable materials collected in the state at one of two transfer stations and then transports the material to ReCommunity's Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as other MRFs in the surrounding area. This facility will keep the recycling in state, creating up to 80 new jobs in Delaware. ReCommunity has taken over recycle transfer operations at the DRC and plans to begin upgrading several buildings at the facility in the next 90 days. The state-of-the-art ReCommunity MRF, which will employ up to 80 workers in two shifts, is expected to open in early 2013.

As a direct result of the State Universal Recycling Law (SB 234) championed by Governor Jack Markell and sponsored by Senator David McBride and Representative Mike Mulrooney, Delaware has created an environment which encourages private investment in the environmental businesses sector of the economy. "We appreciate ReCommunity's commitment to our community and to putting people to work in Delaware. We look forward to their success and growth here," said Governor Jack Markell.
"ReCommunity is committed to what we call the 'Leading the Recovery Revolution(R)' and we are happy to bring our services, along with up to 80 new green jobs, to the State of Delaware," said Jim Bohlig, ReCommunity's Chief Executive Officer. "ReCommunity is a company with a purpose. We exist to help our community partners extract value from their own resources. In the process, we help make them stronger economically and help make the environment cleaner. We look forward to a long partnership with the State of Delaware."

"When DSWA reviewed the proposals for green industries at the DRC, it was clear ReCommunity was a leader in the recycling industry, but what was most impressive about them was their commitment to Delaware and the surrounding community," said Pat Canzano DSWA CEO.

The ReCommunity Delaware facility will use "Single Stream" technology, the latest in Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) technology. It allows communities to collect recyclable materials using single bins inside homes and businesses as well as a single collection vehicle, reducing the costs and carbon emissions of recycling collection fleets. By making recycling easier, and expanding the list of acceptable materials, residents and business in communities across the United States have recycled 15% - 30% more material than previously. At full capacity, ReCommunity Delaware will recover material that will prevent 399,426 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gases (CO2e) from being emitted annually, which is equivalent to removing 79,158 cars from the road each year. It will also save 169,195 cubic yards of landfill space and avoid 1,473,093 gallons of wastewater from getting into landfills.

Once the materials arrive at the MRF, ReCommunity automatically sorts them into their various commodities, and bales them for shipment to other companies that convert the materials into new products. Old newspapers can be converted into paper products and home insulation, aluminum cans are made into new cans, plastics are recycled into new plastic products, and glass is sized into synthetic aggregate or color sorted for re-melt into new glass.

"Delaware is rapidly emerging as a national leader in recycling, demonstrating that environmental stewardship and economic prosperity can go hand-in-hand," said Colin O'Mara Secretary of Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control "Through this state-of-the-art facility, DSWA and ReCommunity will reduce material going to landfills, create well-paying jobs, and support new market opportunities for entrepreneurs."

About ReCommunity
ReCommunity, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a leading recycling, recovery and repowering company that is focused on dramatically reducing the volume of land-filled waste through conversion into useful products such as recycled commodities, low-carbon energy, engineered feedstock, bio-fuels and other value-added recycled products. The company aims to lead a "recovery revolution" by repositioning waste as a strategic community resource instead of a growing liability. ReCommunity enables community partners to generate additional revenue, recover community owned resources, create new jobs, fund budget shortfalls, and reduce their carbon footprint. For more information, visit www.recommunity.com.
The ReCommunity Recycling logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=12782